Date for sentencing hearing not set yet

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John Michael Carrillo, 27, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Las Cruces to an assault charge. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Carrillo will be sentenced to 21 months in prison, followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Carrillo was arrested on Dec. 17, 2016, on a criminal complaint alleging that he assaulted a Mescalero Apache woman on Dec. 2, 2016, on the Mescalero Reservation in Otero County that adjoins the village of Ruidoso. The victim suffered serious bodily injury as a result of the assault, information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Las Cruces stated. The complaint stated that Carrillo assaulted the victim by throwing the woman to the floor and stomping on her face causing her to suffer a broken jaw that required surgery.

During Thursday’s proceedings, Carrillo pleaded guilty to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In entering the guilty plea, Carrillo admitted to the details of the charge. A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

The case was investigated the Mescalero Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.

The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native American women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both, the release on the guilty plea stated. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women and it is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities, the release stated.

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